The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-01-29

and threw himself on the grass, pant
ing. ooh! it is fine nest" he said,
made of sticks and wool and reeds.
You 90 down, VIII, but mind how you
60"
The little boy took the rope from
Sam, and tied it with trembling fingers
under his arms, as he had seen Sam
do. "Where is the nest, Samg" he
cried.
"Bowt half way down on little bit
Of a ledge. You can't mistake it. And
perhaps you'll see the old bird coming
to feed the young 'uns; if you do, hide,
eos they're powerful strong and that
cross! They polish off young sheep
sometimes"
With fear and excitement, and pleas
ure at taking part in such daring adj
venture, Willy stepped forward and be-
gan his descent.
Mind howyou sc" cried Sam; 'look
out for a good foothold."
Willy soon found it was very diff
cult undertaking. The ground often
crumbled and slipped from his feet or
else the face of the cliff was too stony
and steep to afford any resting-place
for his feet.
Hold the rope" he cried again and
again as he clutchcd to it, and to do
Sam justice, that sturdy young boy did
hold it fast, twisting it around the pole,
and only paying it out by slow degrees,
Willy was not so old or so skillful as
Sam, and his descent was longer and
much more hazardous. If Sam had
been no better mountaineer, Willy
could not have done for him what he
now did for Willy.
At last, with a throb of joy, the little
lad spied, not very far below him, the
long-sought nest. 1t was, as Sam had
, said, made of reeds and wool and small
sticks, and Willy could see something
raw, unfledged little things-in it,
5 that he knew were the young birds. He
l shouted for joy! But, just as he was
l carefully picking his way down to the
1 nest, shadow sailed over him, harsh
= croak grated on his ear, and cold fear
1 lay on his soul! He looked up. The
t parent bird was flying at him, and its
| broad wings had come between him and
Y the sun!
D The bird pecked at him, and tapped
Y its huge black pinions, and little Willy
screamed, and yet manfully defended
l himself as well as he could with his
n fists, meanwhile endeavoring to clam
. Der up the cliff away from the nest.
e But alas! whether the bird had frayed
the rope in pecking at WHY'S breast,
d or whether he had not tied the knot Sc
e curely, in one moment, as he stumbled
o over a bowlder and fell backward, it
became Embossed, and the poor little
V boy found himself rolling over and
Is over sideways, and humping from stone
a to stone, catching at grass and roots to
break his fall down, down the steep
e cliff slope. And when he reached the
d ground aching and bruised all over, he
quite lost consciousness, and knew not
l. where he was.
When he came to himself, it was to
d find that he was being carried home by
d his grandfather; but the pain of his
Is bruises and the shame of his wrong
II action kept him from speaking, though
70 he could not keep from groaning now
!. and then. When he reached home his
d wounds were washed, and he went to
bed, but nothing was said to him for a
,e few days, until he was recovering.
Then, one afternoon when the slanting
,e sunbeams were falling on the wall of
N his little room like golden glory, he
re himself told how sorry he was for what
1. he had done, and asked forgiveness.
le "But how came you to goP" asked
49, grandma. "You are generally so ODE
IN dent, and when Sam Heathcote told us
v. that you had fallen down the cliff, l
ID could hardly believe it, because we had
d so strongly forbidden you to go"
re Willy flushed as he heard this. II
re seemed hard to forfeit such good opin-
ion. IL" he stammered, "meant to
s. tell you afterwards.
D. ~ was NlOliS' my pOg' 0"iN > L''AN'
i. ma, every disobedient of you, and you
W. see your sin has brought its punish
d. ment Remember this: BE sure your
it. sin will find you out 1t always brings
e. its punishment Your poor father fell
w a victim to his sin. He would drink
,S till he walked unsteadily, and one ter.
he rible night, coming over the hills the
,e. worse for liquor, he fell over those
same cliffs, and was found dead"
70. There was solemn silence in the lit
nd tie room, but the words sank deep into
ed the boys heart. He prayed that he
at might always remember the truth en-
nc bodied in the text: "Be sure your sir
he will find you out" Nor can he ever
,rs hear now of a ravens nest, or o.
MI Chereham Cliffs, without remembering
re the lesson they have been instrumental